Currently, various packaging and shipping methods are used to transport containers, such as bottles, from one location to another. As such, it is often necessary to provide a bottle conveyor to transfer bottles from one machine to another in the handling process. Such conveyor systems will often utilize a guide rail assembly to maintain the proper orientation of the bottle as it is transferred along the conveyor. One such conveyor system is an air conveyance system which requires relatively accurate side rail positions to ensure efficient and accurate movement of the bottles along the length of the conveyor. Thus, guide rail assemblies of this type are typically constructed as a fixed element relative to the conveyor structure and having a means for making minor adjustments to the rail position.
One conventional method for supporting and positioning such guides along the conveyor involves the use of air cylinders. A plurality of air cylinders are coupled along the conveyor to provide guides for the body of the containers. Adjustments to the guides are made by actuation of the air cylinders. Such systems require extensive plumbing of air line to individually adjust end guide location. This conventional method is designed for specific bottles. When the bottles to be produced are changed the entire system must be reworked. If desired, the cost for such a change can approach the initial cost of the conveyor system.
In recent years, however, variations in shapes and sizes of containers have proliferated. Accordingly, it is desirable to have a system which allows guide rails along a conveyor to be continuously adjusted so that an initial system may accommodate any bottles in the future.